A 24-hour spin cycle in life of Milton Bradley

Welcome to the game of life, Milton Bradley style.

Let's get set to take several spins over a 24-plus-hour period in the life of Milton Bradley, the Cubs' right fielder.

It's a journey full of pathos, anger, reconciliation, a little humor and hope for better days ahead.

It begins Friday and ends, for the time being, after Saturday's 8-7 loss to the White Sox.

Spin No. 1: During the sixth inning of Friday's 5-4 Cubs victory, Bradley flies out and then tosses his helmet in the dugout before spilling the contents of a drink jug.

Manager Lou Piniella tells Bradley to go home.

"It's just wasted energy," Piniella relates. "I told him in a nice way, 'Just take your uniform off, and that's the end of it for today.' "

That prompts an angry exchange in which Piniella calls Bradley a bad name. The subplot is that the Cubs suspect a White Sox employee of leaking the exchange to a newspaper.

Bradley ended up being the cooler of the two men as the confrontation built and then ended. "Can you believe that," Bradley says.

There may have been another reason Bradley played it cool.

"Last time somebody called me a piece of (bleep), I tore my ACL," he said of an argument two years ago, when an umpire baited him and he tore up his knee. "I'm fine. It's Lou Piniella. To me, Lou Piniella's somebody. If it's a motivating factor, and he's taking a different switch, and people are saying he doesn't have fire, then I understand. I take a lot of heed in what he has to say. I take it to heart."

Spin No. 2: Bradley heads home.

The weird feeling, he said, was being sent home from a game for the first time in his life.

"When you go home and you turn on the TV, you're watching, and you're not there," he says. "Then, the bellman at my place was asking me, 'You win the ballgame today?' I said, 'It's not over yet.' "

At home, Bradley calls his agent.

"He was like, 'What's going on?' " Bradley says. "I said, 'I got kicked out.' He was like, 'What happened?' I said, 'No, Lou kicked me out.'

"He got on the horn with (Cubs GM Jim) Hendry, and I got on the horn with Hendry. D-Lee (teammate Derrek Lee) called me before I talked to Hendry. He reassured me that guys in there had my back and just get here early tomorrow and work it out with Lou, 'because we need you.'

"That made me feel really good because I didn't know how it was going to be coming back."

Spin No. 3: Bradley comes back. After arriving early for Saturday's game, Bradley reluctantly meets with a small group of writers.

Asked if he feels singled out, he says yes but adds that it's not without reason.

"Like I said, I don't have the same set of rules as other people," he says. "I've made some mistakes in my past, so I don't get the leeway other people get. To a certain extent, I guess, that's fair."

He also admitted to breaking three or four batting helmets, leading to Piniella finally getting fed up.

Spin No. 4: Clearing the air.

Before Piniella heads out to meet the media, he brings with Bradley into his office. Emotions run high, but in a different way.

"I shed some tears in there with him, and so did he," Bradley says. "He said he's working on being a better Christian, and one of those things is watching your tongue."

Piniella emerges from the clubhouse and immediately is surrounded by reporters.

"I apologized to him for the last comment I made," Piniella says. "I told him he knows in the context I meant it. But I told him it wasn't right, and I apologized for it.

"But I also told him that we just can't continue to have the shenanigans that we've put up with. I told him he's going to hurt somebody. He's going to hurt himself."

"I think this young man has put a lot of pressure on himself. I think he needs to relax and let his ability flow."

Spin No. 5: Bradley speaks again.

Looking relaxed and a little relieved, Bradley entertains reporters for more than 15 minutes after going 1-for-5 at the plate Saturday. He admitted the experience of being a Cub is like nothing he has experienced before.

"It's something else," he said. "I played in L.A. I thought L.A. was hopping. This a whole - fanatic fans, constant cameras and things. It's a lot more than you expect - That's what I signed up for. I can accept that."

Bradley was asked for specifics.

"Just mountains made out of molehills," he said. "I can't think of the specific word."

A couple of stalls over is Lee, the unofficial team leader. He categorically knocked down the notion that Bradley is a "bad guy."

"Not even close," Lee says without hesitation. "Not even close. He's not a bad guy. He doesn't have a bad bone in him. We see his temper. He's passionate. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. But that isn't a 'bad guy.' "